Who Knew
by smoshy.fever1
Summary: Snake and Link have been a happy couple since their sophomore year, but what happens on the last day of senior year? Or when they meet up four years later? SnakexLink


**_ Babe,_**

**_Meet me in the meadow at 7:30 after school. We need to talk._**

Link folded up the paper that fell out of his locker and put it in his pocket. His brows were furrowed and he bit his lip in confusion. Why would his boyfriend leave him a note instead of telling him in person?

He brushed it to the side and finished cleaning out his locker. It was the last day of school and he was a senior, which meant no more school unless he decided to go to college.

Speaking of college, his boyfriend had applied to many halfway through the school year, along with preparing himself to go into the military. The brunet had always wanted to learn more, which is why he learned three different languages since eighth grade. Snake was fluent in Spanish, French, and Russian, and started to learn German as well. He also was interested in serving for his country to keep his loved ones safe. Honestly, he probably wouldn't ever have to go on a ship if he went in the Navy because he could translate private calls in different languages.

Not only was the brunet intelligent, he was also extremely athletic. He'd been in football since sixth grade, wrestling since seventh, basketball since eighth, and started many other sports in his freshman year, including tennis and track. Even with the multiple practices, he still had time for his friends.

His best friend was a blonde named Samus Aran, whom he met in sixth grade at a football meet. She was the only female that even tried out, let alone make the team, and was constantly teased about it and called a lesbian until Snake got into wrestling and threatened to beat up any guy that made fun of her, which was only needed for a year because Samus took up karate and wrestling during the summer before eighth grade.

His longtime childhood friend he'd known since pre-k was a blue haired boy named Ike. Snake and Ike were the closest of friends until sixth grade when Ike and his family moved to California, which was on the other side of the country. The bluenet's father was in the military, and he'd been stationed in Sacramento. The summer after Ike finished eighth grade was when his father was killed as a result of a drunk driver and his mother ultimately decided to move back to her home state of Virginia. They reunited as friends again as soon as they started ninth grade at the same high school.

Snake also had many more friends, but he also had a boyfriend that he loved with all of his soul. That boy's name was Link, and he met him when he moved to Virginia in the middle of their sophomore year. He was a very outgoing and unshy man, and everyone loved him for that. Link loved to song, which earned him friends from the chorus classes. He hardly ever held his tounge to the bitchy teachers that didn't like him because he was much more beautiful than them, and as a result he was usually in some sort of detention or suspension.

One time, Link pissed off the football coach and had to watch the practice and couldn't leave until the players went home, and practice lasted three hours that night. He had his bright blue eyes glued to the quarterback the entire time. He didn't care if the guy was straight and that he didn't have a chance; there was no law against looking.

However, that quarterback was doing terribly at that particular practice. Why? He couldn't concentrate. Why couldn't he concentrate? Because there was an extremely cute and sexy blond watching them play. He seemed bored out of his mind, but that would change after practice, because he was going to go talk with the blond boy.

He'd heard a lot about that blond, and he liked what he heard and loved what he saw. They were about to start a new semester, so maybe they'd have a few classes together.

"Snake! What the hell are you doing?!" Coach Doug hollered as the brunet failed to catch the ball as he was wide open and clearly capable of catching it.

"Sorry Coach, I'll get my shit together!" Snake promised.

Coach nodded his head and Snake came through with his promise. He pushed Link to the back of his mind and focused on the game.

After practice, Snake took a quick shower and found Link on the bottom of the bleachers, waiting for Coach Doug to permit him leave.

"Hey there," he said, leaning against the metal bar.

"Hello," Link said kindly.

"So what's your name?"

"Link. And what might yours be?" the blond asked with a small smile.

"My real name is David, but everybody knows me by the name Snake."

Link outstretched his hand, "Pleasure to meet you Snake. You played quite well after Coach Dougass said to get your shit together."

Snake chuckled at Link's joke at coach's name and shook his hand, only after he shook it he held it for longer than he should have.

Link was rather surprised as to why the athlete was still holding his small hand in his large one, but nevertheless didn't complain. He looked into the blue-grey eyes and saw... Something.

"Hey, Snake! What're you doing? Stop fucking around with blondie; he's in trouble!" the deep voice of the coach hollered.

Snake kept his eyes glued to Link's while he shouted, "Sorry coach, just making friends!"

He then lowered his voice and said to Link, "Wanna go to the movies when he lets us out? My treat,"

Link nodded his head with a smile and felt a sudden sadness as the warmth of Snake's hand was removed and he jogged over to the irate coach.

Fortunately for Link, that warmth would be back with him for three years. Two weeks after they went to the movies, Snake officially asked Link to be his boyfriend, and the blond was the happiest he'd ever been. Snake taught Link how to drive, he'd already had his license before the blond showed up, and was amazed at how quick of a learner he was... At driving, anyway.

Now, Link was very smart and clever, but that didn't mean he was good at math or French. He excelled in science, English, and history, but he found numbers confusing and learning a new language impossible. Luckily for Link, he had an amazingly intelligent boyfriend that tutored him every single day, only with more motivation than a tutor would give.

If Link got something right, he earned a kiss. If he got something wrong, he got nothing. If he got at least a ninety percent on a test, Snake would buy him chocolate and take him to see a movie. If he got a solid one hundred percent, Snake would make sweet, sweet love to Link. Needless to say, the blond got plenty of chocolate and movies, and every now and again he got to become one with his boyfriend for at least two hours.

Link went through the rest of the day a nervous wreck. He wasn't loud, hell he was barely talking! He didn't hear anything anyone said to him unless they yelled directly into his ear.

"LINK!" a female voice shouted.

"AHH!"

Link turned to see his best friend Midna, a blue-skinned redhead that was very popular and loved by many.

"Midna! What the fuck?!"

"Sorry Link, how else was I supposed to get your attention? Anyway, what's got you like this? You're never this absent minded,"

Link sighed, "Snake put a note in my locker saying to meet him in the meadow at 7:30 because we need to talk. I'm trying to figure out why, but I can't. And I haven't seen him all day either."

"That's strange, that's for sure. He always confronts you in person when you want to meet up. And I haven't seen him either. Just forget about it for now and enjoy our last day. "

Link nodded and jogged with Midna to go hang out with their friends.

xXx (7:25; Meadow)

Link could feel his heart pumping in his throat as he walked to the meadow. He'd never been so nervous and anxious to meet up with his boyfriend. He hadn't seen him all day long, not even at the last day of school assembly. He saw his tall boyfriend standing while looking up at the slowly darkening sky.

Link wrapped his arms around his boyfriend from behind once he approached him. The brunet sighed and unwrapped himself and turned around. He gave Link a long, loving hug and didn't let go for at least ten minutes.

Snake pulled back and cupped Link's face in his hands and gave him a passionate and soulful kiss. Link was surprised at the sudden affection, not that Snake didn't show it often, but nevertheless kissed him back with an equal passion.

Snake pulled back and looked into Link's eyes. He grabbed Link's hand with his own, "Walk with me,"

They strolled in the never-ending meadow for ten minutes in complete silence until Snake spoke up.

"Link, do you remember when I sent in all of my applications?"

"Yes. What about them?"

"... I got accepted into all of them, including the one I've been wanting to go to since seventh grade..."

"Which is far away from here." Link finished.

"I know. Link, I don't have to go to Stanford-"

"No Snake. You got accepted, it's been a longtime dream of yours, and I won't stop you. We can still keep in touch and visit."

Snake motioned for Link to turn around and they walked back to the school before he said, "Link. You and I both know that long distant relationships don't work. And I'm moving to California, not just going there for school. I'm heading out tonight at eleven."

Link's eyes were watering, but he wasn't crying just yet. Instead, he held the man's face in his hands and looked up at him.

"But Snake... I don't want to say goodbye!"

The brunet removed his official ex's hands, "Link, don't think of this as goodbye. Let's just call it a... See you later."

With that said, the brunet turned around and started walking to his car. He stopped at his side and turned to Link, "Do you want me to take you home?"

Link shouted, "No thanks!" and watched as Snake gave him the look that said "stop being stubborn and get your ass in the car".

The sad blond walked over and got in the car he knew so well. He'd and Snake had sex in it multiple times, gone to the movies and had fallen asleep in it almost every time, and it was where they had their first kiss.

The drive to Link's apartment was silent. Since it was dark at this point, the brunet walked the blond upstairs one last time. He held Link one last time and kissed his cheek before whispering, "I'll think about you every day. I love you, and I hope you have the best life you can have. Meet a new guy and fall in love with him."

"I love you too," Link whispered while crying, "which is why I don't want to say goodbye!"

"Link, this isn't goodbye! It's a see you later, remember?"

Link chuckled and shook his head weakly. He kissed Snake's cheek one more time and walked inside, leaving the love of his life behind forever.

xXx (Four Years Later)

A tall brunet male walked out of the airport and went to go find the car he rented prior to his flight. He finished college and decided to move back to where he grew up. He hadn't had any contact with any of his friends since high school, and all of his friends had always talked about moving to places like New York so he figured they all moved.

He drove to his hotel and dropped his bags off. He then left the hotel again and made his way to the karaoke bar that the young women at the check-in counter were telling him about. If there is one thing he learned to love since California, it was drunken people trying to do karaoke.

He parked his car and noticed that there were quite a few cars there. He got up to the door, showed the guards his ID, and was let inside. He went directly to the bar, which was empty, and watched the blond bartender come to him immediately.

"Snake? What the hell are you doing here? Haven't seen you since I moved to Denver in eighth grade," the man said while pulling him into a bro hug.

"What's up, Sheik? I finished college in California and realized I missed being home, so I came back. These two women at my hotel told me about this place so I decided to check it out. How long you been working here?"

"About seven months. The place has only been open for a year. We have tons of regulars, like this blue-haired guy named Marth who brings like ten people every time he comes here. He's singing right now, actually."

Snake turned his attention to the stage to see a tall, beautiful man singing "Numb" by Linkin Park.

"He sounds pretty good." the brunet commented.

Sheik chuckled, "Are you kidding? He sounds good, but there's one guy that is way better than him. He's gone about three times now, but he never goes more than that. Maybe Marth will convince him to sing again. They're like this," the blond explained while crossing his fingers.

The bluenet on stage finished his song and said, "Thank you! Now, I know you've gone three times now, but one more wouldn't hurt! Please?" he begged while looking at someone in the audience.

The individual must have declined, because Marth started pouting. The audience booed and begged him to sing again. In fact, they were so desperate to hear his voice they started a chant.

"Do it, do it, do it!"

"I said no! I'm going home now, I'm tired."

The crowd booed as the person they wanted to hear sing got up and left the club. Marth poked his bottom lip out and said, "Sorry everyone, he doesn't want to sing again. Now that I think of it, he did say he had a sore throat. Well my lovelies, I guess I'll go catch up with him since we live together and his car smells nice."

The crowd let out a simultaneous, "Awww!"

The blue-haired man felt the need to cheer the audience up, "Don't fret! We will both be back here tomorrow! But until then, ta-ta! Farewell!"

Marth then proceeded to leave, and then nearly everyone filed out shortly after, leaving Snake and Sheik to themselves and a few other employees.

"Well, if you want to hear him sing, come back tomorrow. They usually show up at around ten, so don't worry about what time. What you need to worry about is what the hell you're going to do tomorrow until then. I don't suppose you'd go seduce a woman, or would you?" the blond male said jokingly.

"Nope. You should know, I don't play for that team."

For some reason, Sheik wasn't surprised.

"Ah. Well, sorry buddy, but it's time for you to get the hell outta here. Closing time's a bitch, just like my boss. See you tomorrow,"

They exchanged a quick man-hug before Snake departed from the club. He got into his rental and drove off to his hotel, his mind never leaving the question of who the so-called "best singer" was.

xXx

Snake climbed out of the black Volkswagen Jetta and stared at the bar for a while. It was ten minutes to 10 o'clock, and his heart was pacing at a rather fast rate for some unknown reason. He fixed his black button-up shirt before walking in and joining Sheik at the bar once more.

''Hey Snake. What were you up to today?" Sheik asked as he fixed up a drink for the brunet.

"Nothing much really. I looked for a place to live and did a little hunting for a car. What the hell is up with these little ass cars nowadays? I mean damn! The Jetta I'm renting was the biggest car available when I booked it. I knew I shouldn't have sold my old car…" Snake complained as he took a swig of his whiskey mixed with cranberry juice and just a smidgen of orange juice that was free of pulp.

Sheik chuckled at the complaints. He hadn't been in touch with Snake when he learned how to drive, but he knew the brunet's love for large cars. He was a big man, so a big car just seemed to fit with him.

"I don't man, I just don't know. But what I do know is that Marth and the gang just arrived."

The doors flew open and a swarm of people flooded the place. Strange, it was empty until Marth showed up…

The beautiful man grabbed a microphone and smiled greatly, "Hello everyone! As promised, we are indeed back. Now, since Mr. Grump over here didn't want to sing again last night, he's singing first."

There seemed to be an argument now, considering Marth's bottom lip poked out.

"You have to! Lovelies, help me!"

Once again, the chant rang out. It seemed to get louder and louder, so the man threw up the white flag. He walked onto the stage and prepared to take the device from his pushy friend. He had on a black jacket with the hood up, plus the lights were super dim, so the brunet had no possible chance of knowing who it was.

"Yay! Ike, he's singing first! Put on the song "Who Knew" by P!nk, he hasn't sang that one on stage before!" Marth requested.

_'Ike's still here?_' Snake thought, _'I'll have to catch up with him later,'_

The brunet and Sheik turned their attention to the man onstage.

"You are so lucky I love you, my good friend. And for the record, I'm Mr. Not-So-Grump."

The music began to play and the cheers died down just a little bit.

"You took my hand.

You showed me how

You promised me you'd be around.

Uh huh, that's right.

I took your words and I believed in everything you said to me.

Yeah huh, that's right," he sang beautifully.

_'That voice...'_ Snake thought. He hopped off of the barstool and worked his way through the crowd.

The short man pulled off his hood and removed his jacket, which pulled a big response from the already mostly drunk crowd.

"If someone said three years from now you'd be long gone,

I'd stand up and punch them out.

'Cause they're all wrong

I know better.

'Cause you said forever.

And ever... Who knew?"

Snake's eyes widened. He knew he'd heard that voice before!

" Remember when we were such fools?

And so convinced and just too cool?

Oh no, no, no.

I wish I could touch you again.

I wish I could still call you a friend.

I'd give anything."

He sang the song with true emotion, as if he understood the meaning completely, which he did. Every single line described how he felt about the man he had fallen in love with in high school. He always thought they'd be together forever, just like he had been told by his ex oh so long ago.

"When someone said count your blessings now,

For they're long gone.

I guess I just didn't know how I was all wrong

But they knew better.

Still you said forever,

And ever.

Who knew?

Yeah, yeah."

Snake pushed through to the front of the stage just as the man opened up his blue eyes to see his ex. He didn't have time to revel in his surprise, but he let out a small gasp. He sang the rest of the song to the unexpected male while making eye contact the entire time.

"I'll keep you locked in my head until we meet again.

Until we, until we meet again

And I won't forget you my friend.

What happened?

If someone said three years from now you'd be long gone,

I'd stand up and punch them out.

'Cause they're all wrong

And that last kiss I'll cherish until we meet again.

And time makes it harder.

I wish I could remember.

But I keep your memory.

You visit me in my sleep.

My darling,

Who knew?

My darling.

My darling.

Who knew?

My darling.

I miss you

My darling.

Who knew?

Who knew?"

Link finished the song in tears and handed Ike the microphone. He ran off the stage and out of the bar. Snake ran after him and looked around the parking lot.

He saw a shaking figure on the curb and sat down next to him.

"Link."

The blond turned to face Snake and said rather coldly, "What?"

"Don't cry. There's no reason to."

"I think my ex who disappeared for four years and wasn't supposed to come back just appearing while I'm singing a song that I fucking relate to completely is reason enough!" he shouted.

"Link, I'm-"

"Don't feed me the apology bullshit! I finally thought I was officially over you just yesterday, and then you show up! Do you have a clue how much I missed you? How sad I was?"

Snake pulled Link into his arms and was delighted when he didn't protest, "Yes Link, I do. Because I missed you too, and was also very sad. I thought about you every single day. But I don't need to now because I'm back. All of my furniture and stuff like that will be sent here once I find a place to live. Link, I'm back. I'm not leaving again either."

Link breathed in the scent of his ex. Black by Kenneth Cole, his personal favorite. Link looked up at Snake,

"Snake, lord knows I want you back, but I can't be with you."

The brunet rose an eyebrow, "And why not?"

"Because I don't need domestic violence added to my record," Link joked with a genuine smile.

Snake chuckled, "Tell you what, instead of beating me senseless why don't you gimmie kiss and let's go to my hotel to catch up."

Link kissed his now once again boyfriend and said, "Babe, you know damn good and well we won't have catch up time if we go to that hotel."

Snake gave a crooked smile that seemed to have the twinkle you see in toothpaste commercials, "Either one is fine by me."

Link shoved the love of his life playfully and climbed on top of him, "Why not both?"

Snake grabbed the ass he hadn't held in a long time and gave him a passionate kiss.

"Before we go make up for four years of lovin', just know that I love you and missed you very much." Snake said.

"I love and missed you as well. Who knows what it'd be like at this moment if Marth didn't drag me to the club?"

"I don't know, but I do know that I'm going to ask you to sing for me more than I did before."

"Trust me babe, I'll be singing within thirty minutes."


End file.
